On Friday, it was announced that former fan favorite and Arizona Basketball alum Josh Pastner would be hired as the new Georgia Tech head basketball coach.
He may be number one in our hearts, but rumors of growing discontent in Memphis were making Pastner’s seat very warm while head coach of the Tigers.
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Since taking over Memphis after John Calipari was hired at Kentucky in 2009, Pastner seemed to be a young, up and coming coach with plenty of potentials.
Times have quickly changed. While Pastner remains very young within his respective profession, the shine has seemed to have worn off at least somewhat. As head coach, his teams are a combined 167-73 in seven seasons, a number that is certainly impressive for any coach, and especially impressive for a coach under the age of 40.
The problem? He hasn’t gotten past the 2nd round of the NCAA tournament, and being in Memphis following the immense amount of success by Calipari, the expectations have certainly always been high among fans.
His teams have seemed to tail off the past two seasons, and perhaps part of that is the school moving from Conference USA to the American Athletic Conference back in 2013-14. Since the move, the Tigers are a combined 61-39 and have missed the NCAA Tournament in the past two seasons.
After Memphis had announced they were sticking with Pastner, the announcement came out that he took the head coach job at Georgia Tech.
Since he was on rocky ground in Memphis, and the school would have had to pay him $10.6 million if they fired him, this is a win-win for both schools. Memphis ended up settling with Pastner for $1.255 million. Being more of an academic school, Georgia Tech might bode well for Pastner.
The move to Atlanta seems to give Pastner a chance at a bit of a refresh. Early in his career still, he obviously doesn’t want to plateau, and with the struggles still looming the past couple of seasons, this will give him an excellent opportunity to start new.
With Georgia Tech, he will be at a program with a bit tamer fan expectations, while still being in a talent-rich, area like Atlanta. Perhaps most importantly, he is not following the legacy of a Calipari-type coach. This project is entirely Pastner’s, and the challenge will definitely be on.
Welcome to Atlanta, Josh Pastner! #TogetherWeSwarmhttps://t.co/l1enwUyZVr pic.twitter.com/NryAzY4PEV
— Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets (@GTAthletics) April 8, 2016
Pastner is known to be a solid recruiter, developing his reputation while at Arizona as an assistant under Hall of Famer Lute Olson. He was a young, hungry, aspiring coach, seemingly possessed to be great, with a passion for basketball. His strong work ethic helped the Wildcats in some ways during his time at Arizona. While at Memphis, he was definitely decent, and in his seven seasons, he averaged about the 31st best class each year.
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The question will be how this coach adjusts to a seemingly tougher conference (the Atlantic Coast Conference) while coaching at a school that hasn’t had much consistent success since the Bobby Cremins days in the late 80s and early 90s.
Pastner has lost a bit of his momentum in coaching, and the past two seasons are one’s to forget. At Georgia Tech, the challenge will tough, and the success will be up to Pastner. BearDown, Josh!